<379 


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THE  SYSTEM 


OP 


PUBLIC  INSTRUCTION 


IN  TUE 


State  and  City  of  New  York. 


A  MEMORIAL, 

ADDRESSED  TO  THE 

State  Legislature  and  the  School  Authorities 

BY  THE 

§e*man-i*mericatt  gttijeus 

OF  THE  CITY  OF  NEW  YORK. 

May,  1869. 


E.  Steiger,  Printer, 

22  &  24  Frankfort  Street, 

! Uvc  lovh. 


This  Memorial,  drawn  by  a  Special  Committee  on  Public  Instruction, 
appointed  by  the  German  Republican  Central  Committee  of  the  City  and 
County  of  New  York,  has  been  submitted  to  and  adopted  by  the  above 
named  Central  Committee,  the  New  York  Turn-Verein,  and  other  influential 
associations  oi  German-American  Citizens  in  our  City,  without  regard  to 
political  parties. 

The  German  Special  Committee  on  Public  Instruction : 

Hartwig  Gercke,  Chairman.  E.  F.  Grauert,  Secretary. 

G.  P.  Stutzmann,  L.  Jabobs,  W.  Schlegel,  Dr.  Wohlfahrt,  H.  Intemakn, 
F.  Appel,  Dr.  A.  Douai,  M.  Friedsam,  E.  Koessly,  K.  Schlegel. 


4Qp  Copies  of  this  Memorial  may  be  had  on  application  at  the  bookstore  of  E.  Steiger, 
No.  22  &  24  Frankfort  Street,  New  York. 


I 


The  German- American  citizens,  duly  appreciating  the  great  importance  of 
a  thorough  reform  in  the  School  System  of  the  State  of  New  York,  which  has 
been  repeatedly  proposed  of  late,  consider  themselves  justified  and  hound  in 
duty  to  place  before  the  proper  authorities  the  results  of  their  experience  and 
observations,  both  in  their  native. and  adopted  countries,  and  to  make  known 
their  wishes. 

'  The  schools  of  Germany  and  Swifzerland  are  now  occupying  the  first 
rank  in  Europe.  While  such  men  as  Basedow,  Campe,  Rochow,  Pestalozzi, 
&c.,  aspired  to  reform  the  Common  Schools,  a  more  liberal  spirit  began 
to  operate  also  upon  the  High  Schools  and  Universities,  and  broke  the 
fetters  of  pedantry.  Statesmen,  philosophers,  and  poets,  in  fact,  the  entire 
people  joined  in  the  movement  of  reform;  the  methods  of  instruction  were 
greatly  improved,  and  excellent  institutions  both  for  teachers  and  pupils 
established.  So  the  history  of  the  German  School  System  clearly  proves  that 
good  High  Schools  are  based  upon  corresponding  Elementary  Schools,  that  good  Elemen¬ 
tary  Schools  depend  on  corresponding  High  Schools,  and  that  a  true  and  effective  School- 
system  must  embrace  Schools  of  all  grades. 

These  .results  have  been  obtained  in  Germany;  although  that  country, 
owing  to  the  'want  of  political  and  religious  liberty,  has  as  yet  not  been  able 
to  rise  to  the  great  principle  of  the  American  Free  Schools.  In  Germany  free 
instruction  is  an  alms,  since  the  poor  only  are  excempt  from  tuition  fees.  The 
efforts  of  all  enlightened  friends  of  popular  education  toward  introducing 
the  Free  School  System  in  Germany  have  been  futile,  owing  to  the  appropri¬ 
ation  of  enormous  sums  to  standing  armies,  court  officers,  and  churches, 
which  necessarily  must  check  the  further  development  of  the  German  schools. 

The  more  the  German-American  citizens  therefore  appreciate  the  high 
value  of  the  Free  School  System,  the  more  they  urge  its  realization  and  per¬ 
fection  to  the  most  liberal  extent,  and  strenuously  oppose  any  attempts  at 
limiting  the  principle  of  Free  Schools  to  elementary  institutions. 

A.  THE  PRINCIPLE  OF  FREE  INSTRUCTION. 

The  welfare  of  the  Republic  is  based  upon  the  moral  and  intellectual 
culture  of  her  citizens.  Popular  education  is  therefore  not  only  the  interest 
of  the  whole  people,  but  paramount  to  all  other  interests.  While  the  Re¬ 
public  holds  out  citizenship  to  every  man,  it  ought  not  to  leave  education  to 
the  humor  and  the  often  deficient  judgment  of  individuals.  The  recognition 
of  this  truth  corresponds  with  the  great  principles  underlying  this  Republic; 
it  has  given  rise  to  our  Public  School  System,  and  must  be  completely  real¬ 
ized.  If,  in  consequence  of  this  principle  the  expenses  for  popular  education 
are  paid  by  taxing  the  citizens,  every  citizen  is  entitled  to  all  the  bene¬ 
fits  of  the  Public  School  System,  and  may  demand  that  everybody  should 
acquire  a  certain  degree  of  general  culture.  The  Public  School  should,  there- 
3 

p  13.11.4 


4 


fore,  not  only  be  open  to  all,  but  all  parents  ought  to  be  compelled  to  provide 
for  their  children  a  certain  amount  of  instruction. 

In  consequence  of  the  same  principle  the  benefit  of  gratuitous  education 
should  be  extended  to  schools  of  all  grades.  While  the  law  should  fix  a  ♦ 

minimum  of  learning  required  of  every  scholar,  it  ought  certainly  not  to  draw 
a  limit  to  continued  study  in  the  Free  Public  Schools,  that  would  preclude 
the  talented  though  poor  pupils  from  scientific  pursuits,  and  make  higher 
education  a  privilege  of  the  rich.  * 

The  U.  S.  Government  has  justly  considered  it  necessary,  in  the  interest  of 
the  country’s  defense,  to  establish  and  maintain  institutions  for  the  instruction 
of  officers  for  the  army  and  navy,  the  admission  to  which  depends  chiefly  on 
talent  and  proficiency.  But  is  it  not  far  more  important  that  states  and  towns 
should  establish  a  sufficient  number  of  Free  High  Schools,  in  order  to  bring  a 
superior  education  within  the  reach  of  all,  and  thus  obtain  infinitely  more 
useful  officers  of  general  progress,  promoters  of  popular  education,  of  science, 
art  and  industry  ? — 

It  is  only  by  an  intimate  co-operation  with  High  Schools  that  Primary 
and  Intermediate  Schools  can  be  conducted  with  a  clear  insight  into  the  real 
purpose  of  all  education-  This  purpose  is  not,  to  merely  impart  to  the  pupils 
a  certain  degree  of  knowledge  and  skill  indispensable  in  practical  life,  but  to 
harmoniously  develop  all  their  physical  and  mental  powers,  and  to  inculcate  and  nourish 
in  them  a  sense  for  the  good,  the  true,  and  the  beautiful.  This  nobler  and  higher 
purpose  of  education  is  but  too  apt  to  be  lost  sight  of  by  elementary  teachers 
in  the  toilsome  performance  of  their  duties  in  crowded  classes,  unless  they 
themselves  have  received  a  superior  education  from  which  to  draw  an  ever 
fresh  enthusiasm  for  their  profession. 

B.  DEFECTS  IN  THE  SCHOOL  SYSTEM  OF  THE  STATE  OF 
NEW  YORK. 

No  thinking  man,  who  has  followed  the  progress  of  our  Public  Schools 
during  the  last  10  or  15  years,  and  has  studied  the  annual  reports  of  our 
School  Officers,  can  deny  the  praiseworthy  efforts  made  by  our  Commissioners 
and  Superintendents  for  improving  the  Schools,  and  particularly  the  methods 
of  instruction;  but  these  efforts  have  partly  failed,  and  will  fail  as  long  as 
certain  difficulties  and  defects  are  not  removed,  which  we  will  endeavor  to 
point  out. 

1.  The  Want  of  a  suEcient  number  of  High  Schools  and  Teachers’ 

Training  Institutions. 

There  is  in  the  city  of  New  York  but  one  Normal  School  for  female 
teachers,  which,  being  open  only  on  Saturdays,  can  of  course  produce  but  very 
limited  results;  there  is  but  one  High  School  under  the  present  Public  School 
System,  viz,  the  New  York  College.  The  other  establishments  of  higher  ^ 

grade,  as  the  Columbia  College  and  the  University,  are  private  or  sectarian 
institutions,  and  but  slightly  connected  with  the  Public  Schools.  A  com¬ 
parison  with  the  institutions  belonging  to  the  Public  School  System  at  Berlin, 
a  city  of  700,000  inhabitants,  will  clearly  demonstrate  how  poorly  our  Empire 
City  is  supplied  in  this  respect.  There  are  at  Berlin  a  Seminary,  connected 


with  the  University,  for  teachers  in  High  Schools;  two  Normal  Schools  for 
male  and  female  teachers  in  Primary  and  Intermediate  Schools;  15  High 
Schools,  a  Polytechnical  Institute,  and  the  well  known  University  itself.  And 
likewise,  if  we  compare  the  number  of  Public  High  and  Normal  Schools  in 
the  State  of  New  York  with  that  in  some  German  States  or  Switzerland,  the 
comparison  proves  also  very  unfavorable,  notwithstanding  some  recent  efforts 
made  for  the  better.* 

This  being  so,  it  seems  strange  that  there  could  have  been  a  movement 
towards  limiting,  or  even  abolishing,  the  single  free  High  School  in  N.Y.  City, 
the  N.  Y.  College:  this,  too,  among  men  and  in  public  journals,  that  mean  to 
advocate  the  interest  of  the  masses.  In  fact,  the  reasons  adduced  in  favor  of  this 
movement  simply  prove  how  little  the  fundamental  conditions  of  a  thorough 
educational  system  are  as  yet  generally  understood.  To  those,  for  instance, 
who,  proceeding  from  untenable  premises,  have  calculated  that  every  graduate 
of  the  City  College  costs  $5000.00 — while  in  fact  every  student  costs  only 
$200.00  a  year — we  should  reply  that  even  such  a  price  were  not  too  high,  if 
the  only  High  School,  destined  to  complete  the  whole  system,  could  really 
not  be  maintained  at  a  cheaper  rate.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  our  new  School 
Commission,  animated  with  the  same  spirit  of  true  progress  as  the  former  one, 
will  not  only  successfully  resist  every  attempt  to  abolish  the  College,  but  by 
promoting  its  development  and  by  establishing  other  Normal  and  High 
Schools,  will  meet  the  most  important  desideratum  in  our  School  System. 
How  shortsighted  are  those  who  think  they  raise  the  Common  Schools  by  re¬ 
moving  the  College  !  Deprive  the  Common  Schools  of  the  motive  for  emul¬ 
ation  based  upon  the  prospective  admission  of  their  pupils  to  the  College,  and 
you  will  soon  see  them  sink  and  decline,  as  many  of  the  best  pupils  are 
merely  induced  by  this  prospective  admission  to  enter  the  Public  Schools  and 
to  go  through  all  their  classes. 

2.  The  Want  of  theoretically  and  practically  trained  Teachers. 

Wherever  there  is  a  want  of  Normal  Schools  for  teachers,  and  of  High 
Schools,  there  must  be  a  want  of  competent  teachers.  There  is,  as  yet,  in 
New  York  no  profession  of  teachers  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word.  The  ex¬ 
amination  and  classification  of  persons  applying  for  a  teacher’s  position  by  our 
School  Superintendents  may  indeed  somewhat  mitigate  this  evil,  but  where 
there  is  no  sufficient  number  of  well-prepared  teachers,  the  qualification  of 
them  must  be  on  a  low  standard.  In  fact,  most  of  those  who  apply  for 
examination  are  young  ladies  who  have  just  left  the  Ward  Schools,  and  still 
need  instruction  themselves.  Many  of  them,  it  is  true,  attend  the  Normal 
School  on  Saturdays,  but,  wearied  as  they  must  be  by  their  toilsome  and 
exhausting  daily  duties,  they  necessarily  lack  the  freshness  of  mind  required 
to  appropriate  and  digest  what  is  taught  there.  They  may  become  enabled 
to  mechanically  apply  certain  methods  of  instruction,  but  not  to  act  from 
clearly  understood  pedagogic  principles.  Very  few  young  men  embrace  the 

*  There  were  only  4  Normal  Schools  in  the  whole  State,  two  years  ago  when  the  establish¬ 
ment  of  4  more  was  authorized  by  law.  The  grea.t  number  (250)  of  incorporated  Literary 
Colleges  and  Academies,  partly  with  Teachers’  Training  Classes,  being  of  a  private  character, 
notwithstanding  their  reporting  to  the  Board  of  Regents,  and  almost  as  little  connected  with 
our  Public  School  System,  as  other  private  schools,  have,  therefore,  not  been  taken  into  account 
in  this  Memorial. 


6 


profession  of  teaching,  because  they  have  not  by  their  own  education  been 
inspired  with  the  true  enthusiasm  for  this  high  vocation;  even  those  who 
have  a  natural  talent  and  inclination  for  teaching,  generally  prefer  other 
employments;  whilst  in  Germany  there  are  many  who,  notwithstanding  the 
moderate  salaries,  devote  their  lives  to  a  vocation  which  affords  the  noblest 
and  purest  satisfaction.  We  need  not  give  a  commentary  to  the  /act  that  in 
1867,  of  a  total  number  of  2206  teachers  in  the  Public  Schools  of  this  city, 
2030  were  female,  and  only  176  male.  (Annual  Report  of  the  City  Super¬ 
intendent,  p.  19.) 

3.  Imperfect  Plans  and  Methods  of  Instruction. 

The  want  of  a  comprehensive  and  well  arranged  plan  distributing  prop¬ 
erly  the  whole  matter  of  instruction  among  the  several  grades  of  schools 
and  the  classes  of  each  school,  as  also  the  partial  retention  of  antiquated  and 
irrational  methods  of  instruction,  based  on  mechanical  committing  to  me¬ 
mory — are  other  necessary  results  of  the  above  mentioned  causes.  It  is  but 
just  to  acknowledge  the  very  important  improvement  made  some  years  ago 
through  the  adoption  in  our  Public  Schools  of  a  revised  plan  of  instruction, 
yet  the  new  plan  is  also  objectionable  in  its  selection  and  distribution  of  the 
matter  of  instruction,  and  cannot  have  the  desired  result — notwithstanding 
its  tendency  to  restrict  the  abuse  of  crowding  the  pupil's  memory — until 
teachers  have  been  trained  to  give  instruction  without  the  mechanical  aid 
of  text-books. 

It  was  only  after  years  of  discussion  and  trial  that  the  school-reformers 
in  Germany  and  Switzerland  succeeded  in  establishing  well  balanced  and 
generally  approved  plans  of  instruction.  They  ought  to  be  adopted  in  this 
country  which,  in  her  Free  School  System,  has  a  more  fertile  soil  for  the 
highest  development  of  education  than  Germany  ever  had,  and  which  should 
not  neglect  the  advantage  of  profiting  by  others’  experience. 

4.  The  School-Books. 

Wherever  text-books  are  to  replace  to  a  great  extent,  the  free  activity  of 
the  teacher,  it  is  not' surprising  that  the  number  of  school-books  should  be  too 
great  and  should  swell  inordinately  the  expenses  for  maintaining  the  Schools, 
or  that  they  should  be  so  arranged  as  to  materially  impede  a  teacher,  who  is 
able  to  instruct  in  a  free  oral  manner.  Besides,  those  definitions,  rules  and 
“answers”  intended  to  be  verbally  committed  to  memory,  are  often  themselves 
inexact  and  scarely  intelligible  and  a  source  of  useless  trouble  to  the  minds 
of  both  pupils  and  teachers;  thus,  those  Readers  intended  to  be  read  through 
without  choice  or  discrimination  from  the  first  page  to  the  last,  must  greatly 
detract  fi’om  the  usefulness  of  the  reading  lesson,  otherwise  so  potent  a  means 
for  the  mental  development  of  the  pupil. 

5.  Teaching  Languages  in  the  Public  Schools.  The  German  Language. 

Besides  arithmetic,  no  branch  of  instruction  justly  receives  so  large  a  share 
of  time  and  attention  as  the  English  language;  yet,  the  results,  especially  re¬ 
garding  the  knowledge  of  grammar,  i.  e.,  the  natural  construction’and  laws  of 
the  language,  are  not  satisfactory.  Not  even  the  grammatical  text-books 
take  any  notice  of  the  reforms  achieved  in  the  instruction  of  language  in 
iftodern  times.  Much  precious  time  is  squandered  with  unvaried  exercises 


V 


of  a  dry  mechanical  nature,  such  as  spelling,  defining  and  parsing;  while 
grammatical  instruction,  given  after  a  correct  method,  can  and  should  re¬ 
place  in  the  Common  School  the  study  of  logic  and  lead  the  pupil  to  in¬ 
dependent  thinking.  The  true  method  of  teaching  languages  is  based  on 
comparative  grammar.  Hence  the  universally  recognized  principle,  that  the 
acquisition  of  a  foreign  language  essentially  promotes  the  knowledge  of  our 
mother  tongue,  and  is  almost  indispensable.  ‘  ‘  He  who  does  not  know  foreign 
languages,  knows  nothing  about  his  own,”  says  Gbthe.  It  is  only  this  com¬ 
parison,  that  renders  the  study  of  grammar  interesting  and  truly  instructive. 
For  this  reason,  every  teacher  in  Germany  is  required  to  know  at  least  one 
foreign  language,  and  a  foreign  language  forms  an  important  branch  of  in¬ 
struction  in  the  schools  from  the  grade  in  which  grammar  proper  is  intro¬ 
duced,  upward. 

The  same  should  be  the  case  in  our  country,  the  more  so  as  the  En¬ 
glish  language,  owing  to  its  origin,  as  well  as  to  its  paucity  of  grammatical 
forms,  certainly  needs  comparison  with  other  tongues,  to  present  its  structure 
under  full  light  to  the  student’s  comprehension. 

The  German  language,  standing  in  the  relation  of  sister  to  the  English 
language,  and  being,  as  the  oldest  member  of  the  same  family,  richer  than  most 
other  living  languages,  is  particularly  well  adapted  for  comparative  study 
with  the  English  and  might  in  this  respect  advantageously  replace  the  dead 
languages  in  our  Public  Schools.  There  being,  moreover,  a  close  affinity 
between  the  English  and  German  literatures,  and  the  number  of  Germans  being 
steadily  on  the  increase  in  this  country,  it  is  evident,  that  the  knowledge  oi 
German  is  gaining  in  practical  value.  If,  therefore,  any  foreign  language  w 
to  he  taught  in  our  Public  Schools,  it  must  he  the  German.  Its  introduction  in  al] 
classes,  beginning  with  the  Intermediate  Schools,  as  a  principal  branch,  would 
most  assuredly  tend  to  improve  and  complete  the  school  plan  ;  but  good  re¬ 
sults  can  only  be  hoped  for  when  the  foreign  language,  introduced  in  the  plan, 
is  a  regular  part  of  the  curriculum,  through  a  sufficient  number  of  classes. 
The  introduction  of  German  or  French  in  the  upper  classes  of  Ward  Schools, 
under  the  present  system,  has  as  yet  been  of  little  avail. 

The  time  required  for  the  study  of  German  might  properly  be  withdrawn 
from  the  English  lessons  and  still,  for  the  reasons  given,  such  detraction  would 
by  no  means  prove  a  hindrance  in  the  study  of  English.  It  is  a  wide-spread 
error,  refuted,  however,  by  experience,  that  the  simultaneous  study  of  several 
languages  tends  to  embarrass  the  pupils:  on  the  contrary,  it  promotes  their 
progress.  The  experience  in  our  German-English  Schools  shows  that  it  re¬ 
quires  little  more  time  to  teach  reading  and  writing  in  both  languages  than 
in  one  of  them,  even  in  the  Primary  Department. 

6.  Irregular  Attendance  at  School  and  overcrowding  of  Classes. 

The  irregular  attendance  and  the  unequal  distribution  of  scholars  result¬ 
ing  in  overcrowded  classes  are  very  palpable  defects  in  our  Public  Schools, 
especially  in  the  Primary  Schools,  in  which  a  foundation  is  to  be  laid  foi 
future  education. 

The  report  of  the  City  Superintendent  for  the  year  1867  contains  tho 
fallowing  gloomy  facts  :  In  the  Primary  Schools  the  average  attendance,  with 
a  whole  number  of  130,206  pupils,  was  only  52,553  or  40  %  ;  in  the  Grammar 


Schools,  with  59, 848  scholars,  29,019,  or  less  than  50  %;  in  the  Colored  Schools, 
with  2056  scholars  only  737,  or  36%;  and  even  in  the  Normal  School,  with 
1000  students  on  the  list,  only  406,  or  40  %. 

But  the  disproportion  in  the  distribution  of  scholars  is  still  less  excusable. 
In  one  Primary  School  there  were,  in  1867,  736  children  taught  by  10  female 
teachers ;  305  of  them  in  the  higher  classes  were  under  eight  teachers,  and 
431  under  the  youngest  two;  162  being  intrusted  to  one,  and  269  to  the 
other.  The  average  number  of  scholars  in  the  lowest  classes  of  the  Pri¬ 
mary  Schools  in  the  City  amounted  to  160.  No  wonder,  then,  that  under 
such  circumstances  the  parents  do  not  send  their  children  regularly  to  school, 
and  that  the  children,  progressing  too  slowly,  lose  interest !  The  respective 
figures  clearly  show,  that  the  greater  part  of  all  the  children  attending  our 
Primary  Schools  never  pass  beyond  the  lowest  classes,  and  either  grow  up 
without  instruction,  or  enter  schools,  less  crowded  than  the  Public  Schools.  '5 
These  evils  can  be  cured  by  laws  and  regulations  and  their  strict  execution, 
but  such  laws  should  be  enacted  at  once.  It  would  be  wise  to  follow  the  ex¬ 
ample  of  Massachusetts,  in  which  State  no  class  is  permitted,  under  any  cir¬ 
cumstances,  to  embrace  more  than  50  scholars. 

7.  Wasting  Time  in  the  Public  Schools, 

A  regard  for  the  children’s  health  renders  it  imperative  to  limit  the 
time  for  daily  instruction  to  a  moderate  number  of  hours,  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  ever  increasing  amount  of  human  knowledge  calls  for  an  extension 
of  school-time.  The  two  conflicting  demands  can  be  satisfied  only  by  the  con¬ 
scientious  use  of  every  minute  of  the  school-time.  Now,  the  instruction  proper 
begins  in  most  of  our  Public  Schools  at  10  A.  M„, instead  <of  at  9,  because  fully 
an  hour  is  spent  every  day  with  a  solemn  opening  by  singing,  and  reading  the 
Bible  and  the  roll.  As  some  religious  denominations  object,  and  have  a  con¬ 
stitutional  right  to  object,  to  the  reading  of  the  Bible,  and,  besides,  since  ex¬ 
perience  proves  that  such  practices,  repeated  every  day  in  the  manner  pre¬ 
scribed,  leaves  not  a  trace  of  benefit  in  the  children,  it  cannot  be  justified  to 
take  for  this  purpose  so  much  precious  time  from  the  instruction  proper. 
We  must  still  more  object  to  the  custom,  prevailing  in  several  schools,  of  wast¬ 
ing  time  by  repeating,  before  every  dismissal,  exercises  of  a  devotional  nature. 

The  hourly  and  daily  making  up  of  rolls  and  lists  concerning  attendance, 
conduct,  progress  of  scholars,  takes  likewise  too  much  time  from  instruction, 
without  attaining  the  purpose  intended.  For  it  is  a  great  illusion,  as  every 
experienced  teacher  knows,  to  believe,  that  an  opinion  mathematically  exact 
on  the  conduct,  application  and  progress  of  a  scholar  can  be  obtained  by  av¬ 
eraging  numbers  more  or  less  exact. 

8.  Physical  Education. 

Considering  the  great  inclination  of  our  people  for  physical  exercises,  and 
the  almost  unanimous  favor  in  which  Gymnastics  are  held  by  the  public 
press,  as  a  means  of  promoting  health  and  the  general  development  of  our 

*  The  existence  and  steadily  increasing  number  of  Private  Schools  with  both  very  mo¬ 
derate  and  very  high  tuition  fees,  proves  that  the  results  of  our  Free  School  system  are,  as 
yet,  far  behind  those  of  Public  Schools  in  other  countries,  which,  although  not  free,  have  over¬ 
come  almost  entirely  the  competition  of  private  institutions. 


youth,  it  is  strange,  that  as  yet  so  little  has  been  accomplished  in  this  respect 
in  our  Public  Schools.  The  introduction  of  regular  tuition  in  gymnastics  in 
all  the  schools  of  New-York  would  require  but  little  trouble  or  expense.  All 
the  school  buildings  in  the  City  are  so  spacious  and  well  constructed,  that  they 
afford  ample  room  for  this  purpose  and  the  requisite  number  of  instructors 
could  easily  be  procured  from  Turner- Associations.  The  suggestion  may  be 
in  place  here,  that  for  the  boys  military  drill  should  be  combined  with  the 
course  of  gymnastical  instruction,  as  is  the  generally  approved  practice  in 
Switzerland. 


9.  The  Kindergarten. 

Since  the  idea  of  the  Kindergarten  has  met  with  success  in  its  practical 
application  especially  in  large  cities,  it  has  become  an  object  of  interest  also 
in  this  country.  In  a  city  like  New-York  the  introduction  of  the  Kindergar¬ 
ten  in  the  Public  School  System  would  be  a  great  blessing.  Thousands  of 
children  of  a  tender  age,  in  which  they  are  still  accessible  to  every  good  in¬ 
fluence,  and  too  young  yet  to  be  misused  for  gain  by  poor  or  heartless  parents, 
might  be  sent  to  this  school,  saved  from  physical  and  moral  misery  and  cor¬ 
ruption,  at  least  for  a  considerable  time  of  the  day,  and  thus  prepared  for 
ulterior  education  by  the  school. 

The  establishment,  of  a  sufficient  number  of  public  Kindergartens,  presents, 
we  admit,  great  difficulties,  owing  to  the  want  of  competent  teachers  ;  but  such 
as  can  be  found  should  at  once  be  employed,  and  a  school  for  the  training  of 
Kindergarten  teachers  opened. 

C.  OUTLINES  OF  A  GENERAL  SCHOOL-LAW  FOR  THE  STATE  OF 

NEW-YORK. 

Our  Public  Schools  should  form  one  well-organized  system,  embracing 
the  whole  State  and  the  schools  of  all  grades ;  the  School-law  should  establish 
general  principles  in  order  to  secure  the  unity  of  the  system  and  harmonious 
co-operation  of  the  different  schools  from  the  Kindergarten  up  to  the  Univer¬ 
sity,  and  of  the  different  districts  into  which  the  State  may  be  divided.  This 
can  be  attained  without  restraining  liberty  of  action,  and  without  injuring  the 
principle  of  self-government. 

1.  General  Principles. 

1.  The  Public  Schools  of  all  grades  to  be  free. 

2.  Attendance  in  school  to  be  obligatory  for  all  children  from  their  7th  to 
their  14th  year.  Parents  not  choosing  to  send  their  children  to  the  Public 
Schools  must  show  that  they  have  otherwise  secured  to  them  the  required  in¬ 
struction. 

3.  Religious  instruction  and  exercises,  being  matter  of  private  con¬ 
cern,  to  be  strictly  excluded  from  the  Public  School. 

4.  General  regulations  should  be  enacted,  by  which  those  schools,  which 
do  not,  as  yet,  belong  to  the  Public  School  System  may  be  received  into  it.** 

*  It  would  be  a  great  benefit  to  public  education,  if  means  could  be  found  to  win  over  and 
connect  with  the  Public  School  system  all  the  numerous  and  liberally  endowed  private  Educa¬ 
tional  Institutions  in  our  State.  In  some  parts  of  Germany  a  similar  end  has  been  attained  in 
a.  short  time  and  with  great  success. 


10 


5.  Only  schools,  belonging  to  the  Public  Schools  proper,  and  those  ex¬ 
pressly  recognized  as  such,  may  claim  support  from  the  Public  School  Fund 
or  Taxes. 

6.  The  number  of  scholars  shall  not  exceed  50  in  any  class  of  a  Pub¬ 
lic  School. 

7.  All  schools,  not  belonging  to  the  Public  School  System,  to  be  subject 

to  the  respective  regulations  of  the  School-Law.  * 

2.  Classification  of  the  Public  Schools. 

1.  The  Kindergarten  School  for  children  from  4  to  7  years  should  be  in¬ 
stituted  after  the  pattern  of  the  Kindergarten  Schools  in  Berlin  and  Hamburg. 

2.  The  Common  School  has  the  double  object  of  preparing  the  scholars 
for  the  High  School,  and  of  completing  the  general  education  of  those  who,  for 
their  future  avocations,  need  no  scientific  instruction.  It  should  be  divided 
into  3  Departments,  which  may  be  instituted  as  independent  schools  where 
it  is  thought  proper,  viz. : 

a)  The  Primary  Department  or  School .  This  should  be  divided,  even  in 
small  country  schools,  at  least  into  two  subordinate  classes,  with  separate 
class  rooms,  but  even  in  the  most  crowded  schools  the  grade  of  each  class 
should  be  so  strictly  defined,  that,  the  skipping  of  classes,  so  frequent  now, 
would  be  impossible.  Over-crowding  can  be  easily  avoided  by  instituting  co¬ 
ordinate  classes. 

Although  the  introduction  of  a  foreign  language,  is  not  yet  necessary  in 
these  schools,  it  would  appear  desirable,  considering  the  facility  with  which 
children  of  this  age  acquire  languages,  to  begin  German  in  the  upper  classes 
of  the  Primary  Schools,  in  those  districts,  in  which  the  number  of  German- 
Americans  would  justify  such  an  innovation. 

b)  The  Intermediate  Department  or  School ,  corresponding  in  respect  to  the 
age  of  the  scholars  with  the  Grammar  Department  of  our  Public  Schools. 
The  plan  of  studies,  adopted  in  our  Grammar  Schools,  requires  a  thorough 
re-organisation.  A  new  plan  should  not  be  made  without  carefully  comparing 
and  examining  the  plans  of  corresponding  schools  in  Germany  and  Switzer¬ 
land;  nor  without  consulting  pedagogues  well  acquainted  with  the  different 
systems  of  instruction.  In  the  selection  and  distribution  of  the  matter  of 
instruction  the  double  object  of  the  Intermediate  Department,  to  prepare  the 
scholars  for  the  High  School,  and  the  Supplementary  Course,  should  never  be 
lost  sight  of. 

c)  The  Supplementary  Department  or  School.  The  above  mentioned  object 
of  these  schools  being  to  prepare  for  practical  life  and  for  an  intelligent  per¬ 
formance  of  the  duties  of  the  man  and  the  citizen,  their  plan  should  be  model¬ 
ed  accordingly.  * 

As  it  can  never  be  entirely  prevented  that  children  will  leave  school  before 
attaining  the  required  degree  of  general  education,  Evening  Schools,  or  in  their 
place,  as  in  Switzerland,  Day  Schools  whicli  are  open  only  once  a  week, 
should  be  established  wherever  needed,  as  supplementary  institutes  to  the 
Common  Schools. 

*  A  detailed  plan  of  studies  for  the  schools  of  all  grades  cannot  be  given  in  this  Memorial, 
but  will  be  presented  in  time  to  the  proper  authorities,  if  the  principal  object  of  this  Memorial, 
to  initiate  a  thorough  reform  in  our  Public  School  System,  should  be  attained. 


3.  The  High  School  aims  at  preparing  the  students  for  all  avocations 
based  on  a  scientific  education,  and  at  enabling  them  to  successfully  continue 
the  studies  of  the  sciences,  of  their  own  free  choice,  by  attending  academical 
lectures,  or  by  the  reading  of  scientific  works. 

The  principal  cause,  why  the  Universities  of  this  country  have  not  yet 
attained  the  high  standard  of  the  prominent  European  Universities,  is,  that 
the  students,  when  admitted,  are  not  sufficiently  prepared  for  free  academical 
studies,  and  that  the  Universities  have,  therefore,  to  provide  for  preparatory 
classes.  The  limits  between  High  Schools  and  Universities  are  inexactly 
defined,  and  generally  disregarded  on  both  sides. 

4.  The  Normal  School  for  Teachers.  The  want  of  Normal  Schools,  the 
most  important  for  the  perfection  of  the  whole  system,  has  already  been 
pointed  out.  Only  in  one  Normal  School,  at  Oswego,  the  experience  gained 
in  Europe  has  been  utilized  to  some  extent.  To  satisfy  the  want  of  provid¬ 
ing  thoroughly  trained  instructors  for  all  Public  Schools,  from  20  to  30  Normal 
Schools  are  required  for  the  State.  '  For  their  organization  and  curriculum, 
the  best  institutions  of  this  kind  in  Germany  and  Switzerland  should  be  con¬ 
sulted.  The  most  suitable  and  simplest  way  to  institute  them  would  be  to 
connect  a  Normal  School  with  every  High  School.  The  scholars  of  High 
Schools,  desiring  to  prepare  for  teaching,  could  then,  according  to  a  well  de¬ 
fined  plan,  combine  professional  studies,  such  as  methodics,  pedagogics,  &c., 
with  the  general  studies  of  the  school.  To  prepare  scholars  of  the  upper 
classes  of  the  Normal  School  for  their  profession,  by  means  of  indispensable 
practical  exercises,  a  complete  Common  School  and  Kindergarten  should  be 
closely  connected  with  each  Normal  School. 

A  Normal  School,  for  professional  teachers  in  High  Schools,  would  best 
be  attached  to  the  State  University. 

5.  Universities  and  Polytechnic  Institutes.  Although  there  exists,  as 
yet,  in  the  United  States  no  University  nor  Polytechnic  Institute  that  might 
be  compared  with  the  best  in  Europe,  the  immediate  establishment  of  a  Uni¬ 
versity  of  the  first  rank  would  offer  no  insuperable  difficulties,  if  good  High 
Schools,  intended  to  disembarrass  the  Universities  from  their  preparatory 
courses,  were  established.  The  Cornell  University,  being  centrally  located, 
and  bidding  fair  as  a  new  institution  to  develop  itself  powerfully,  could  per¬ 
haps  be  raised  to  the  rank  of  First  University  of  the  State. 

3.  Dividing  the  State  into  School  Districts. — School  Administration. 

The  present  division  of  the  State  into  School  districts  should  be  revised 
and  altered,  according  to  the  general  rule,  that  every  district  ought  to  con¬ 
tain  at  least  one  Public  High  and  one  Normal  School,  which  probably  would 
render  it  necessary,  in  someNparts  of  the  State,  to  combine  several  counties  into 
one  District.  Each  District  should  be  subdivided  into  Sub-districts,  each  of 
these  containing  one  or  two  complete  Systems  of  Common  Schools,  with  Kin¬ 
dergartens,  Primary,  Intermediate  and  Supplementary  Departments. 

In  respect  to  the  administration  of  the  Public  Schools,  the  system  estab¬ 
lished  in  Switzerland,  with  the  best  results,  and  well  adapted  to  a  demo¬ 
cratic  form  of  government,  should  be  adopted,  and  the  teachers  of  our  Public 
Schools,  organized  for  this  purpose,  be  legally  entitled  to  a  participation  in 
the  general  administration  of  the  schools.  This  want  has  also  been  expressed 


by  teachers’  Associations  and  Institutes.  The  practical  establishment  of  this 
organization,  and  of  the  school  authorities  to  be  instituted,  will  naturally 
result  from  the  division  and  subdivision  of  the  State  into  Districts. 

There  ought  to  be  in  every  Sub-district :  1st,  A  Board  of  Trustees,  chosen 
by  all  the  citizens.  2nd,  The  Sub-district  Institute  of  Teachers,  consisting  of 
all  the  teachers  of  the  Sub-district. 

In  every  District :  1st,  A  District  Board  of  Education,  elected  partly  by 
the  citizens,  partly  by  the  Sub -district  Institutes  of  the  Teachers.  2nd,  The 
Teachers’  Institute  or  Conference  of  the  District  High  Schools,  consisting  of 
all  the  teachers  of  a  High  School.  3rd,  The  District  Conference  of  Teachers, 
consisting,  in  smaller  districts,  of  all  the  teachers;  in  others,  of  delegations 
from  the  Sub-district  Institutes. 

In  the  State:  1st,  The  State  Board  of  Education,  partly  appointed  by  the 
State  Government,  partly  by  the  Institutes  of  Teachers.  2nd,  The  Teachers’ 
Institute  of  the  University.  3rd,  The  State  Convention  of  Teachers,  con¬ 
sisting  of  Delegates  from  the  Teachers’  Conferences. 

A  few  suggestions  only  may  indicate  here  the  respective  rights  and 
duties  of  the  different  branches  of  the  school  administration: 

To  the  Board  of  Trustees,  the  District,  and  State  Board  of  Education, 
belong  entirely  the  financial  administration  of  the  schools,  their  control  and 
superintendence,  the  appointment  of  teachers,  the  establishment  of  new  and 
disposal  of  old  schools,  and  the  final  arrangement  of  the  plans  of  study.  In 
all  these  cases,  the  teachers  as  such,  through  their  legitimate  organizations, 
should  have  but  a  consultative  voice,  and  the  right  of  petition  and  complaint; 
but  it  should  be  their  special  duty  to  djscuss  methods  of  instruction  and  dis¬ 
cipline,  to  examine  and  approve  school-books,  and  to  decide  all  cases  and 
matters  concerning  the  pedagogical  management  of  their  schools.  The  Sub¬ 
district  Institutes  and  the  Conferences  of  High  Schools  should  meet  once  a 
month.  Two  regular  annual  meetings  of  the  District  Institutes,  and  one 
annual  meeting  of  the  State  Convention,  may  suffice. 

4.  Appointment  and  Discharge  of  Teachers. 

Until  a  sufficient  number  of  Normal  Schools  is  established,  the  examin¬ 
ation  of  the  teachers  must  be  intrusted,  as  it  is  done  now,  to  the  School  Super¬ 
intendents.  Only  examined  and.qualified  teachers  should  be  appointed  in  the 
Public  Schools,  and  they  should  be  employed  within  the  limitations  of  their  cer¬ 
tificates.  The  appointment  of  teachers  for  Kindergartens  and  Common  Schools 
should  belong,  as  now,  to  the  respective  Board  of  Trustees;  that  of  teachers 
of  High  and  Normal  Schools  to  the  respective  District  Board  of  Education, 
that  of  Professors  of  the  University  to  the  State  Board  of  Education. 

Every  teacher  for  a  Public  School  should  be  appointed  for  an  indefinite 
time,  and  discharged  only  by  legally  defined  proceedings.  By  thus  securing 
to  the  Teacher  in  his  arduous  duties  and  great  responsibility  a  long  lease,  as 
it  were,  of  his  modest  position,  we  may  hope  that  a  sufficient  number  of  able 
persons  will,  in  future,  devote  themselves  to  teaching. 

5.  The  Principle  of  Free  Instruction. 

The  liberal  interpretation,  prevailing  here,  of  the  principle  of  free  in¬ 
struction,  to  furnish  to  pupils  all  the  school-books  free  of  charge,  is  very 


13 


laudable,  yet  many  children  are  unable  to  attend  the  school  for  want  of 
proper  clothing.  It  might,  therefore,  very  properly  be  a  matter  of  con¬ 
sideration  whether  school-clothing  should  not  also  be  furnished  at  public 
expense.  Great  advantages,  for  the  main  purpose  of  education,  might  be 
derived  from  such  an  innovation. 

If  all  pupils  were  provided  with  uniform,  plain,  yet  tasteful  clothing, 
well  adapted  to  their  respective  age  and  to  the  performance  of  gymnastical 
exercises,  there  would  be,  at  least  in  the  outward  appearance,  no  longer  any 
contrast  between  rich  and  poor.  Vanity  and  the  love  for  finery  would  be  check¬ 
ed,  a  sense  for  cleanliness,  order  and  decency  strengthened.  The  difficulties 
of  carrying  this  proposition  into  effect  are  not  so  great  as  they  appear  at  first 
sight.  The  costs  could  be  greatly  reduced  by  furnishing,  free  of  charge, 
only  the  clothing  worn  during  school-hours  and  left  in  school,  and  by  asking 
a  proportionate  pay  from  those  who  wish  to  use  it  out  of  school.  Besides,  no¬ 
body  can  doubt  that,  if  only  half  the  extra  expenses,  now  indulged  in  by  the 
parents  for  the  school-clothing  of  their  children,  were  paid  over  to  the  School 
Fund,  the  receipts  would  suffice  to  furnish  plain  clothing  to  all  the  pupils 
attending  our  Public  Schools. 

It  will  not  be  improper  to  mention  yet  another  difficulty  that  might  pre¬ 
clude  the  poor  from  attending  High  and  Normal  Schools.  In  the  country 
districts,  only  a  few  of  those  who  wish  to  attend  the  High  School,  live  at  the 
place  where  it  is  established;  hence  those,  who  cannot  afford  to  pay  for  board, 
would  be  debarred  from  the  benefits,  and  the  attendance  of  High  Schools 
would,. to  a  great  extent,  be  a  privilege  of  the  rich.  But  this  difficulty,  too, 
can  be  readily  obviated,  if  communities,  corporations,  and  private  persons 
furnish  the  funds  for  a  sufficient  number  of  pensions  or  scholarships  in  each 
High  School,  to  be  given  to  the  most  deserving  applicants.  Then,  nobody 
would  be  entirely  excluded,  and  such  a  pension  could  not  be  looked  upon  as 
an  alms,  but  as  a  distinction. 

D.  REFORMS  THAT  COULD  BE  MADE  WITHOUT  DELAY. 

All  great  reforms  require  much  time  and  a  great  amount  of  exertion; 
it  will,  therefore,  be  proper  to  point  out  some  measures  that  could  be  earned 
into  effect  immediately. 

1.  In  the  City  of  New  York. 

1.  Establishment  of  two  complete  daily  Normal  Schools,  one  for  female, 
one  for  male  teachers,  after  the  model  of  similar  institutions  in  Germany  and 
Switzerland,  and  with  the  assistance  of  teachers  well  acquainted  with  the 
German  method  of  instruction. 

2.  Reorganization  of  the  New  York  College,  with  the  view  of  rendering 
it  the  Model  High  School  of  the  State. 

The  impending  appointment  of  a  new  President  of  the  College  affords 
the  best  opportunity  for  such  a  reform,  and  a  man  should  be  selected  for 
this  task  who  has  the  high  scientific  qualifications  and  pedagogical  experience, 
indispensable  in  a  true  reformer. 

3.  Establishment  of  a  Model  Female  High  School.  Normal  Sohools 
should  at  once  be  connected  with  the  High  Schools. 


4.  Establishment  of  as  many  Kindergartens,  as  the  number  of  competent 
instructors  will  allow. 

5.  Adoption  of  the  German  and  Swiss  organic  School  System,  and  intro¬ 
duction  of  the  German  language,  as  an  obligatory  study  through  all  classes,  in 
a  limited  number  of  Ward  Schools. 

As  experience  is  more  apt  than  reasoning,  to  overcome  prejudices,  this 
proposition  should  be  taken  into  earnest  consideration.  If,  in  those  parts  of 
our  City,  which  are  most  crowded  with  people  of  German  descent,  a  number 
of  German -American  Ward  Schools — 3  or  4  in  the  Eastern,  2  or  3  in  the  Western 
part  of  the  City — were  established,  there  would  be  an  excellent  opportunity 
for  a  fair  comparison  between  the  American  and  the  German  systems  of  educa- 
tion.  By  transforming  some  of  the  present  German-American  Schools — 
as  the  Free  German  School  in  Fourth  Street  and  the  German  English  School 
of  the  19th  Ward — into  Public  Schools,  and  by  altering  the  Plans  in  some  of 
the  present  Ward  Schools,  this  moderate  demand  of  the  German-American 
citizens  could  be  satisfied,  without  instituting  new  schools  and  erecting  new 
school-houses. 

A  sufficient  number  of  competent  teachers,  thoroughly  acquainted  with 
the  German  method,  could  be  had  readily,  and  a  specified  plan  presented  to 
our  Board  of  Education  at  any  time.  It  would  certainly  be  a  task  worthy  of 
our  new  Board,  to  thus  initiate  a  reform  of  our  whole  Educational  System. 

6.  Appointment  of  some  German  pedagogues  for  the  offices  of  School- 
Commissioners,  Superintendents  and  Inspectors. 

The  German-American  citizens  now  constitute  almost  one-fourth,  of  the 
whole  population  of  this  City,  and  in  proportion  contribute  to  the  School 
Fund,  without  enjoying  fully  the  advantages  afforded  by  our  Public  School 
System,  because  they  have  so  far  established  and  supported  a  great  number 
of  schools  of  their  own,  not  so  much  out  of  regard  for  their  mother  tongue  as 
from  their  conviction  of  the  superiority  of  the  German  System.  They  are, 
therefore,  certainly,  justified  in  the  claim  of  having  their  views  on  the  man¬ 
agement  and  organization  of  the  schools  represented  by  men  of  their  choice 
and  who  are  honored  with  their  full  confidence. 

7.  Proper  regulations  against  the  overcrowding  of  Classes  in  some  of  our 
Ward  Schools. 

8.  Regulations  against  the  waste  of  time  in  the  schools  by  exercises  that 
have  no  relation  to  the  object  of  instruction. 

9.  Introduction  of  Gymnastics,  as  a  regular  branch  of  instruction  in  all 
our  schools. 

2.  In  the  State. 

In  order  to  efficiently  inaugurate  the  proposed  reformation,  and  the  institu¬ 
tion  of  a  harmonious  School  system  in  our  State,  based  on  the  best  and  most 
liberal  principles  of  Education,  a  Special  Commission  should  at  once  be  ap¬ 
pointed  for  the  purpose  of  framing  an  elaborate  School-Law  to  be  laid  before 
our  next  Legislature,  and  of  making  all  necessary  preparations  for  carrying  it 
into  effect.  The  most  prominent  and  experienced  teachers,  thoroughly  ac¬ 
quainted  with  the  best  systems  of  education,  should  be  invited  to  participate 
in  the  labors  of  this  Commission. 


15 


The  German- American  citizens  are  firmly  convinced  that,  although  not 
all  their  views,  herein  set  forth,  may  meet  with  the  full  approbation  of 
their  American-born  fellow  citizens,  yet  the  last  object  of  the  proposed  reform 
certainly  has  been  well  defined;  and  also  that  there  is  nothing  in  this  Me¬ 
morial  that  does  not  deserve  an  earnest  consideration.  In  preparing  it, 
we  have  been  guided  by  the  idea,  that  the  educational  system  of  a  whole  na¬ 
tion,  like  the  education  of  the  individual,  ought  to  be  harmonious.  What, 
among  the  ancient  nations,  the  Greeks  alone  found  by  intuition,  has  been 
proved  beyond  dispute  by  the  modem  science  of  education,  namely,  that  na¬ 
tional  instruction  and  education  has  to  aim  at  the  development  of  the  moral, 
intellectual  and  physical  powers  of  the  pupil,  i.  e.,  at  forming  “the  beauti¬ 
ful  and  good”  man  in  the  sense  of  the  Greeks  As,  with  the  individual,  health, 
vigor  and  beauty  of  the  body  greatly  depend  on  early  physical  education; 
as  his  mental  development  and  future  welfare  are  built  up  by  harmoniously  cul¬ 
tivating,  in  his  youth  ere  he  encounters  the  discordant  demands  of  practical 
life,  the  germs  of  the  good,  the  true  and  the  beautiful — so  the  power,  the 
welfare,  and  the  moral  and  intellectual  growth  of  a  free  commonwealth,  are 
based  upon  the  System  of  Popular  Education. 

The  object  of  this  Memorial  is  attained,  if  it  awake  a  general  and 
lively  interest  in  this  most  important  question,  and  convince  our  fellow 
citizens,  that  our  School  System,  though  it  is  founded  on  the  most  generous 
and  liberal  principles,  needs  a  thorough  reform,  before  we  can  expect  cor¬ 
responding  happy  results. 

When,  as  occurred  in  Germany,  the  whole  nation  participates  in  this  move¬ 
ment,  it  will  be  crowned  with  success.  The  German  nation  owes  its  rescue  from 
the  greatest  moral,  social  and  political  decay,  by  which,  a  century  ago,  it  had 
become  the  object  of  general  derision  and  contempt,  to  the  mental  labors  of 
her  great  teachers,  poets  and  philosophers  and  to  her  schools.  The  high  rank, 
which  she  has  attained  and  now  occupies,  among  the  civilized  nations  of  the 
world,  notwithstanding  her  most  unfavorable  political  condition,  must  be 
ascribed  to  the  same  causes ;  what,  then,  might  be  expected  in  this  Free 
Country,  if  the  nation  worked  in  her  highest  interest — her  own  education, 
with  the  same  enthusiasm  and  devotion  ! — 

It  cannot  be  objected,  that,  on  account  of  the  great  expense  which  the 
proposed  reform  would  require,  it  is  impossible  to  carry  it  into  effect  at 
present;  for,  in  the  first  place,  the  expense  will  prove  much  less  than  ex¬ 
pected,  under  a  wise  administration  of  the  School  Fund;  and  then,  as  with 
the  individual,  so  with  the  whole  nation,  the  money  spent  for  educational  pur¬ 
poses  wtll  soon  turn  out  a  saving.  In  a  country  like  ours,  where  the  wealthy 
citizens  vie  with  each  other  in  evincing  their  patriotism  by  truly  princely  dona¬ 
tions,  it  only  needs  the  establishment  of  a  School  System,  apt  to  arouse  a  uni¬ 
versal  interest,  to  make,  not  only  the  whole  people  willing  to  support  a 
moderate  increase  of  the  taxes,  but,  to  induce  our  wealthy  citizens  to  emulate 
each  other,  in  promoting  the  great  purpose  by  liberal  patriotic  sacrifices. 

_ 


